The present invention is generally directed to the medical assist device for assisting in the transfer of an infirmed patient from a bed to a chair or chair to a wheelchair or back to bed from a wheelchair to a toilet or bathtub.
Reference is made to United States Letters Patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,477 B2, incorporated herein by reference, of which I am a co-inventor. The embodiment of FIGS. 25-29 of the above-identified patent discloses a medical assist device having a rotatable platform with a seat adjacent to the platform and with wheels. The present invention is an improvement in which there is provided a medical assist device having a lift seat to assist the patient from moving from the seat to the rotatable platform preparatory to rotation to the desired position for exiting the medical assist device.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus with (1) a rotatable platform for rotatably shifting a patient positioned thereon, (2) a seat adjacent said rotatable platform, (3) wheels for moving a patient on the medical assistance device from one location to another and (4) a lift mechanism for lifting the seat to the point where the patient may easily leave the seat and stand on the platform. For reasons of patient safety and to prevent damage to the device, there are provided switches which permit rotation of the platform only when the seat is in the fully lowered position and which permit the seat to be raised only when the platform is in the proper rotational position, namely, a position directly facing the platform such that, when the seat is lifted, the patient will be able to move into a space between two gripping bars.
Additionally, the upward lift stroke is limited by design to prevent damage to the unit and to prevent lifting the patient into contact with the handlebars.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.